Pearl Harbor Attack

EVENTS | 1941

The Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor, executed by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941, represented the decisive moment that compelled the United States into World War II. Prior to the bombing, President Franklin D Roosevelt's dedicated attempts to involve America in the European conflict were stymied by overwhelming domestic anti-war sentiment, with popular opposition running as high as 80%. The attack successfully swept aside all popular obstacles to American involvement in the global military conflict.

Orchestration of Hostilities

The Japanese assault is regarded as the successful culmination of a diplomatic strategy by President Roosevelt aimed at bringing the United States into the war. Numerous historians affirm that the attacks in Pearl Harbor were orchestrated or manipulated with the intention of persuading a reluctant American citizenry to support military action.

Facing persistent domestic opposition to direct military intervention in Europe, the Roosevelt Administration implemented a broad spectrum of hostile actions against Japan, deliberately intending to provoke an attack. This approach, described as seeking a back door to war, included imposing a complete freeze on Japanese assets, enacting an embargo on the oil supplies vital to the Japanese military, and summarily rejecting the personal request of the Japanese Prime Minister for top-level governmental negotiations aimed at preserving peace.

Roosevelt had initiated potentially provocative military repositioning as early as May 1940, when he ordered the Pacific Fleet relocated from its home port of San Diego to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This manoeuvre was strongly opposed by Admiral James Richardson, the commanding officer, who warned that it was unnecessarily provocative and dangerous; he was subsequently dismissed from his post. Secretary of War Henry Stimson indicated that the underlying strategy was to maneuver Japan into firing the first shot.

The ultimate motivation for Roosevelt's insistence on fomenting a major foreign war was rooted in domestic political and economic desperation. Despite the creation of numerous New Deal programmes, the American economy remained mired in the Great Depression. By late 1937, a new economic collapse had returned unemployment figures to the levels present when Roosevelt first took office. Roosevelt turned toward an aggressive foreign policy, believing a major foreign war was the only recourse from his dire economic and political predicament. This stratagem, intended to deploy military Keynesianism, would rescue his presidency and provide justification for seeking an unprecedented third and fourth term.

Presidential Foreknowledge and Calculated Loss

A strong belief persists, supported by considerable evidence, that the highest levels of the United States government were fully aware of the planned attack on the fleet at Pearl Harbor and consciously permitted it to occur. This action was taken to ensure maximum American casualties, thereby creating a vengeful nation united for war.

By 1941, the United States had successfully broken all Japanese diplomatic codes and was freely reading their secret communications. The message from the Japanese government warning its Ambassador that Japan was preparing to attack the United States was read by Military Intelligence almost immediately upon its receipt.

If Washington had issued a warning to the commanders at Pearl Harbor, their resulting defensive preparations would have been observed by local Japanese spies and relayed to the approaching task force. The element of surprise would have been lost, the attack likely aborted, and all of Roosevelt’s long-standing plans for war frustrated. Consequently, the ensuing cover-up, which involved successful lying about details, was intended to shield the individuals in Washington who guaranteed the attack's success and the ensuing loss of American lives and ships.

Furthermore, Professor Revilo P. Oliver, relying upon his intimate knowledge acquired while serving in Military Intelligence during World War II, claimed that Roosevelt deliberately tricked the Japanese into attacking Pearl Harbor. This deception involved conveying false information through the Portuguese Ambassador, a channel known by Roosevelt to have been compromised by the Japanese, thereby persuading them that the United States was planning its own surprise attack against the Japanese home islands. The Japanese, fearing a treacherous blow, made a desperate effort to strike first in self-defence. The provocative action by Roosevelt to engender a Japanese attack only occurred after his earlier military provocations against Germany had failed to achieve a declaration of war.

The Aftermath

The Japanese attack resulted in the deaths of approximately 2,400 American servicemen. President Roosevelt famously designated 7 December 1941 as the date that will live in infamy. The ensuing public anger and desire for retribution immediately resolved the long-standing political reluctance towards full military commitment.

On the day following the alleged surprise attack, hundreds of U.S. troops seized control of Disney Studios, purportedly to defend California from Japanese forces. Since Pearl Harbor occurred on a Sunday and the military occupation of the studios commenced early Monday morning, it is highly unlikely that the military forces would have been ready to execute this action immediately following a genuine perceived surprise attack.

The suspicious nature of the Pearl Harbor attack has been effectively summarised by analysts such as Percy Greaves, Junior. The case presented against President Roosevelt is aligned with the views of numerous scholars who have examined the subject. This event is historically comparable to the sudden, surprise attack ordered by Winston Churchill on the disarmed French fleet in 1940, which killed approximately 2,000 French sailors, an incident also deemed a Pearl Harbor-type event.